Dear Comrade

Chapter 7. Ryugyong Hotels (2)

Chapter 7. Ryugyong Hotels (2)

“It’s been a long time since I’ve known you, leader, this ignorant child Kim Jeong-hwan, it’s been a long time since I sent my regards.”

“Girae, Girai, it feels really good to see my little side after a while. How have you been doing in Japan?”

“Thanks to the care of the chieftain, I have been healthy.”

“ha ha ha!!! That’s right, you speak very nicely.”

It was about a month after he set foot on the land of the Republic that Jeong-hwan, who returned to his hometown, was able to get to know Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung.

The first thing that greeted Jeong-hwan when he arrived at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport after leaving Chongryon, whom he had been close to for three years after finishing “cleaning up” in Japan, was the high-pressure threat from Kim Young-ryong, the head of the security department.

– You had to stay with our agents for a while, Comrade Jeonghwan.

Jung-hwan, who already knew what they had come for, reassured Yoo Hye-rim, who had a hardened expression on his face, followed them as it was, and was imprisoned somewhere.

And after about four weeks, Jeong-hwan was released and reunited with his mother, Kim Myung-ae, whom he had never seen before, and at the same time, he heard a message from a security guard saying, ‘The general wants to see you.’

Unlike at the Koryo Hotel a few years ago, it was today that we had such a simple ‘family reunion’ in the Joungsang Palace, where Kim Il-sung’s office was, and in the Republic of Korea, the ‘Geumsusan Capitol’.

“Girae, didn’t you have a lot of trouble while living abroad? It’s hard not to feel good about your brother, Junghwan, coming back to you with the same bloodline.”

‘Because it’s my older brother… It may be because it’s in front of Kim Il-sung, but it’s a story that there is no evidence to doubt me.’

Jung-hwan thought to himself as he felt Kim Jong-il’s hand stroking his back with a friendly smile unlike a few years ago, when he treated him like an enemy or a competitor even if he was viewed favorably.

For the past month, he had been detained by avoiding the eyes of Kim Il-sung, undoubtedly for the purpose of investigating Jung-hwan, who returned to his feet sooner than expected.

And it was clear that he was able to meet his biological family by living so well now, since the investigation didn’t come up with anything to criticize.

‘It is certain that the Security Council has already passed to Kim Jong-il. I’ll have to get rid of them first.’

Even though he was an illegitimate child, the leader’s son returned after a few years, and the fact that he could be detained for a month without even notifying the leader Kim Il-sung was already said that the Ministry of State Security was nothing more than Kim Jong-il’s private organization.

Whatever the thoughts he had inside, Jung-hwan bowed his head this time with a smile on his face.

“Thanks to the older brother who took care of this younger brother, he was doing well even from afar. Now that I go outside the republic to get some cold air, I can see now that my family is in a good mood. So, please, I ask you to accept this younger brother’s small kindness, not to be discouraged.”

“…………”

As soon as he returned home, Jung-hwan secretly mentioned the personal account he had dedicated through the Security Council, $130 million, which is now locked in a Swiss bank, and Kim Jong-il swallowed his saliva.

‘Isn’t it possible that this Junghwan really doesn’t have any ambitions for this guy? Is it the child that I was upset with for no reason?’

The decisive role in making even Kim Jong-il, a seriously ill patient with suspicious disease, feel this way was the final report from the Security Council that he received this morning.

In that report, Jung-hwan’s career in Japan and the process of forming his fortune were described in detail, centering on the testimonies of Japanese Chongryon personnel under the direction of General Manager Kim Young-ryong.

– Comrade Hwan Jeong almost never left Tokyo during his entire stay in Chongryon, and he devoted himself to accomplishing the important revolutionary task of directly visiting and examining the rotten state of the Japanese imperialist bourgeoisie and the realities of the capitalist camp. In addition, he went around pachinko, high-class resorts, and hotels to meet the leaders of Japanese scoundrels, preach the feat of the Republic and the general, and spare no effort in promoting the superiority of the socialist system.

It was the testimony of Kim Yong-geon, the head of the Chongryon and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan.

It was a testimony that suggests that it was difficult for any official who ate the rust of the republic to report that Jeong-hwan used foreign currency like water and played with it as it is, so he painted himself with the ‘Baekdu bloodline’ version.

– Are you talking about Comrade Jeonghwan? Ah, wherever you went, you carried me around. All I had to do was eat all the good things and focus on pounding the buttocks of Japanese thorns in Ginza. In the middle, he also invited me to play with him… Of course, as a member of the security guard who protects the leader of the republic, General Kim Jong-il, and his business from the closest distance, he rejected it in one word!

It was the testimony of Li Mun-cheol, a security officer in charge of the Chongryon.

Of course, if Junghwan uses his background to threaten him or mobilize money, it is not difficult to get them to testify, so we had to listen a little more.

What really matters, the testimony of how Jung Hwan built a fortune of $130 million comes in the next section.

– Are you talking about Jung Hwan-sang? Aigoo, don’t talk, how much do you like pachinko and betting golf… You must have visited all the golf courses in the suburbs of Tokyo. That wasn’t enough, so he begged me to go to the golf course that was being developed. Well, thanks to that, I accidentally fell in a windfall, so I touched the yen a bit…

– What’s that story? Please explain in detail.

Heo Young-jun was a suspicious businessman running a real estate company called Takayama Real Estate, which had recently grown rapidly in Japan.

He was a (bald) Korean-Japanese who said he was associated with a bank in the Chochongryon branch and went out with Jeonghwan, but now he has liquidated everything and is running his own business completely independently.

– Well, as the Joseon proverb says, it’s like stepping on a mouse while stepping backwards from a cow. As I often visit the golf course, I was tempted to hear about the offer of membership, so I started investing in the development of a new golf course.

Even in this day and age, I said that you shouldn’t spend your money recklessly on such things, but what will I do about using my own money? But strangely, this is also called Oatari (大当tari: a pachinko term, meaning a jackpot). I was sitting on a money cushion.

– …………… So, you were lucky.

– I am a person who doesn’t even know the ‘two’ of investment, but the times are the times and such things happen only when luck is right. As those of you know, I think Nippon is crazy these days, so I thought it was fun, so I invested in resorts and other things, but this is increasing day by day. But one day, all of a sudden, I sold it all out and went home, so I stopped him. If I can’t go back to my hometown now, I don’t think I’ll be able to live long. Do you know what happened?

His words, recorded by a security guard who secretly contacted Heo Young-jun in Japan, revealed how Jung-hwan created a fortune of 130 million dollars.

In a word, I was lucky.

– Please take a seat, comrade Hyun Young-sook. It’s not like an anti-party act investigation, it’s just to ask a question, so don’t freeze too much…

– Who said frozen? I’m not hiding anything from the general, so feel free to interrogate me. Did I say comrade Jeonghwan? Obviously, when Comrade Jang and Comrade Jang went on a business trip to Japan for the South Korean Olympic Games, they treated us with dignity. However, as Comrade Jang has already reported, I and above all, Comrade Jang Seong-taek took care of almost all the main projects. That comrade named Jeonghwan only worked as a janitor in the middle.

– Hmmm…. What do you personally think about Comrade Jeong Hwan, the current manager, Girum?

– Well, I don’t know about the middle cadre, but it’s definitely not a comrade who will do great things in the party and the republic. The only thing that deserves a good price is that he himself has a good grasp of the subject and is not overly greedy. Even with my aide, Yoo Hye-rim, a high-ranking officer, I smelled something, so I called him separately and warned him to behave properly. Comrade Jang probably thinks so, but it is certain that only General Kim Jong-il has inherited his leadership power among his blood and blood.

In order to guarantee the fairness and objectivity of the testimony, Jeong Hwan brought in Hyun Young-sook, the head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, who is certain that Jeong-hwan could not buy it, and was the answer.

However, the report insisted that it should be heard not only from an objective third party, but also from the person who served him closest to him for three years.

– You stayed in a Tokyo hotel every day that cost more than hundreds of dollars a night. He, and Comrade Jeonghwan, are very fond of female colors, so they paid tens of thousands of dollars to play with countless Japanese geishas every day. He spends so much that he once sent caviar and vodka to Russia to buy them directly from the farm. He even gave me foreign currency to buy luxury items such as shoes and clothes to wear.

– Reveal your young woman…. And you bought luxury items for your superiors? Come to think of it, you have a pretty pretty face, Top Yu. Directly asking, Yoo Hye-rim. Has Comrade Jeong Hwan ever instructed Yu to do anything other than his own job? …even if you don’t say what it means, you know, right?

– Well, that’s… I mean… Of course there have been times like that, but…

– I knew without listening! A virgin military officer from a family of revolutionary martyrs should know how to behave. That’s why you shouldn’t enlist girls in the military!

The last witness, Yoo Hye-rim, who had been close to Jung-hwan for three years, finally gave the report of the Security Department, which concluded about a person named Kim Jeong-hwan and his deeds.

– Han-ryang, who likes luxury, golf, shopping for luxury goods, and revealing women’s skirts, accidentally made a fortune in foreign currency. It seems that he has decided to win a seat in the Central Party. There is little chance of challenging the general’s leadership.

‘…………..’

Kim Jong-il, who has read up to this point, also unsealed and read the attached account tracking results of the 2nd Bureau of the Security Agency and the Overseas Anti-Violence Bureau.

After scouring the banks of small, nameless tax havens in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with their eyes wide open, they came to one conclusion.

– No hidden accounts. Comrade Jeong Hwan’s total assets are only $130 million, just over $100 million.

“If you go, go ahead. Anyway, did that kid stick his molars at this Kim Jong-il without any support?”

It was this morning that he made an appointment with his father, Kim Il-sung, with a smile of satisfaction when he saw the results of the investigation by the Bantamguk and the Security Agency that confirmed Jang Seong-taek’s conjecture.

Over the past three years, Kim Jong-il’s own power has grown stronger, and it was a decision made by Jang Sung-taek, convinced that Jeong-hwan had no intention of trying to win the favor of Kim Il-sung.

If you think about it, you may have overreacted.

If you look at it, Jeonghwan is also a young man in his prime. Even if he showed him some guns three years ago, it would be no wonder that he lived in a stuffy republic and went to a flashy foreign country, his eyes widened and he was lost in luxury and sophistication.

‘If that’s the case, it was good to show generosity as a leader and older brother. After all, the government funds are pouring in as if they were building a hotel these days…’

“Ha ha ha ha ha! This older brother has been very indifferent to Jung-hwan. Let’s see, do you want to participate in the Ryugyong Hotel business?”

“That’s right. It was decided to open next year to coincide with Abaddy’s birthday, so shouldn’t I have to do the same thing as a son?”

“Girae, Girae. This $130 million worth of that Jung-hwan’s heartfelt donation will be diverted to the Ryugyong Hotel construction in the hopes that it will anyway. Take the job of Giraffe brother buying materials with the foreign currency!”

“Are you really?”

Jeonghwan deliberately asked with wide-eyed eyes as if in surprise, but Kim Jong-il, unaware of his speed, patted his shoulder as if showing great generosity.

“Did this older brother look like a human being who would play with his father-in-law’s birthday present? Didn’t I hear that you were building and demolishing houses while you were in Japan? If you go, you will have learned something so far, so use that foreign currency as it is and do something bigger for this republic and for your father, President! My own brother gave me permission to buy construction materials!”

“Thank you, brother, no, general!”

Seeing Jeong-hwan bowing his head deeply, Kim Jong-il shed a smile full of reassurance that he had removed one of the trouble spots.

Now, one competitor has disappeared, and instead, one more loyal loyalist with blood to fight for his defense has increased.

“How is it?”

“Okay, what did I say?”

“Comrade Baek Seung-cheol is waiting for you. Get on it.”

Jeong-hwan, who came out of the palace, asked as soon as he got into Yoo Hye-rim’s car, which was waiting outside.

As soon as the car started moving, Yoo Hye-rim deliberately turned on the Chosun Central Broadcasting Radio loudspeaker and answered Jeong-hwan.

“He was restless. A hundred pedestals… No, should I now call him Major Baek?”

“Don’t even do that. Now time is running out. The stomach that I trusted is now gone…”

“How did the investigation by the Security Agency go? Did they find Comrade Junghwan’s… property?”

As if Yoo Hye-rim was the most important question, he hesitated for a moment to ask, and Jung-hwan, who was looking out the window at Pyongyang, smiled as if he was already cheerful.

“No, I don’t know at all. I miss the look on their faces when I find out that the 130 million I gave with my own hands is less than 1 percent of the total .”